


Villains: Heroes in sacrifical sheep clothing

by Splotcher



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Gen, Heroes, M/M, The difference between good and evil is perspective, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 17:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1477990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splotcher/pseuds/Splotcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In many stories of Post-apocalyptic worlds, Heroes are called upon to restore Order. They come and right the wrongs, right the injustices, and create a better life.<br/>Unless they caused the Apocalypse in the first place.<br/>Then the righting of wrongs, the protection of people and life, lies in the hands of Villains.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A repost from my other account (Dahk Wit at fictionpress).
> 
> This was an older story, which has attracted my creative curiosity, so I may be updating this one soon. Until then, I shall be posting the older chapters periodically from time to time.
> 
> \--Splotch

________________________________________  
"I really don't think this is a good idea."

"Just look menacing, say something dramatic, and then turn tail and run. All Heroes know Villains are cowards. We just have to make it look convincing."

"Yeah, and you're good at being second in command, this is just another plot-you were a villain in the making, overthrowing the old villain with your own brand of cruelty and maliciousness…"

"I think I might be sick."

"'Rada, don't you dare tell me you have stage fright." The brown haired, short, plain woman glared up into my eyes. "This is serious business. Just act like you always did, but meaner!"

Her name was Anja. Anja Herald. Anja was a planner, a schemer, and a trainer. It took imagination to plan evil schemes. The other person, a man named Yate Carter, was my second, the syndicate third, and the one in charge of organizing the retreats. He was average size and height, with a shocking top of red hair that had to be greased down with oil. Troops don't stand out unless that was the drama. He and I wore the same trooper uniform.

I closed my eyes and tried to keep the nervousness down. She was right-this was my job, and I had to be careful not to let them down. Heroes were very unforgiving on henchmen, and unless the villain was there to occupy them, they went after henchmen with a violent streak.

Velon, my boss, whose moniker had meant something once, head super villain, had just gotten a bad case of Typhoid; a disease humankind had thought destroyed decades ago. It had risen back up in the last few years. He would pull through, but Doctor Wellin, the only doctor on our little syndicate, made it clear that he may never join the battle again. It was my job as second man to take his place. That meant a new outfit, new demeanor, new battle tactics (though not too new) and a flare for the dramatic.

Everyone knew Heroes liked drama.

"Um…how about…Jaw snap?" Ana hazarded.

"I'm going to kill myself if that's my moniker."

"Geminite?" Anja tried again.

"Look, he's freakishly tall. Try something that goes with that."

"Yate, I will promote you if you don't shut-up."

He did. Anja pouted.

"You have to have a catch name! Who ever heard of a villain with no name?! A SUPERVILLIAN no less!"

"I'm not a supervillian. I'm just filling in!" I argued back. "The council will send someone more qualified in a few days."

"Ugh!" She threw her hands up in disgust. "I'm going to go talk to the troops. They need to be convincingly afraid."

She walked off in a huff. I inwardly sighed in relief. Everything I spoke was true. The council would send someone. I wouldn't be in the hot seat for long.

Yate elbowed me in the ribs.

"Ow! What?!"

"You scared, 'Rada?" His tone was serious.

"Of course not." I lied.

"Yes you are. I've been your scapegoat for too long to be fooled. You're scared."

"Go organize. We'll be pulling out as fast as we can from the Heroes. It will be strictly a 'Now you see it' operation."

Yate paused, then stalked off. I knew he was annoyed, but I really needed a moment alone.

When I was alone, I walked behind the control building.

Which, sadly, was a shed.

Being such a small force, we had to make our bases in anything around. The syndicate was a little under one hundred Bad Guys, including our resident doctor and his nurse and the messengers. In some of the bigger syndicates, they have dozens of medical staff and thousands of henchmen. They also had permanent bases which got blown up every few months.

Our current base was an old maintenance shed and makeshift barriers, two Ready-Made Shelters, and the Med Tent.

I slumped down against the side of the shed and tried to take calming breaths.

Second-in Commands had the most difficult job in all the syndicates, and everyone on our side knew it. We had to keep the henchmen alive, know the actions of our enemies, play the buffoon in some cases, and keep our Villains alive to fight another day.

Super Villains have the most dangerous job. They see the Heroes face to face, and incur their wrath. Mock them. Hit them. Capture them. In the end, they get the worst of it. They get to fight the Heroes if they can't escape.

Not one Villain has survived a fight with a Hero. Not one has killed a Hero.

Everyone knows Heroes always win. Villains always lose.

I've seen what happens to those that lose.

And I am very afraid.  
________________________________________

"Who knows what to do when the Heroes come?"

"Fall to the ground and praise!"

"Very good Joni. Do you know why?"

"If they are praised, they say you are in trouble, and it is their job to protect them!"

"Good." Janetta nodded. Her class looked up at her expectantly. They had come to learn, and were so proud. They had reached the age of twelve. This was the day they learned how to survive.

A hand was risen tentatively by a little girl in the back.

"Yes?"

"Why do we praise them if we hate them?"

"Because this is what you must do to survive. You are born in the world of villains, and Heroes destroy villains. Praise blinds them, because they are proud. Using their egos against them in this manner has saved thousands." Janetta swept her eyes across the class. "Twenty years ago, when the world still had the governments of States and Asias, the Heroes came. They preached unity and peace. And at first, they were loved. When they began destroying that which they deemed impure, it was too late to stop them. They didn't destroy based on race, because none of you would be different. They destroyed on ideals-those that followed, lived, and those that did not were the enemy. The only thing that stopped them was to appeal to their egos. Can anyone tell me what was created at this time?"

"Villains!" Half the class whooped. The other half brightened up immensely.

"That's right! Villains were instituted to catch the attention of heroes and hold it away from the people they tried to wipe out. There have been many courageous villains, and many of you have a parent or guardians that are henchmen. Without them, life as we know it would have been destroyed, as well as most of our lives. With the attention of the Heroes on the villains, they leave those people they would have destroyed alone."

"Why do Villains wear the flashy clothes?"

"Heroes like drama." Janetta answered the young boy in the second row. "The more interesting the drama, the more the Heroes will pay attention."

"Are we ever sorry?" The little girl asked. Janetta looked at her. She was an unhealthy shade of pale, and her hair was thinning in places. She was sick, like some of the other children.

"For what?"

"We use villains like shields. They die for us, sometimes. Are we ever sorry?"

For once, Janetta didn't have an answer.  
________________________________________

"Sit down, Old man. We don't need Velon." He glanced out the tent flap. "We need a friggin miracle."

"Who's taking my place?" The gray haired man coughed. His condition had gradually improved, and he almost had the Typhoid beat, even at his age. It was the cough that had the Doctor concerned. Arada hadn't been quick enough to trip up the Hero that they got into a showdown with last time, and the result had been cracked ribs on Velon. They weren't healing, and another blow could kill the man.

Doctor Wellin rubbed his temple. "Arada is taking your place. He's ordered the 'Now you see it' operation."

"I would have done the same."

"No you wouldn't. You would have told Arada to figure it out."

"He always does." The old man coughed again. "How's he holding up? Probably scared."

"Wouldn't you be? Heroes are rough on the newbies." Wellin lit a cigarette. "They get it into their heads to squash resistance before it starts. And they got a beef with him. Remember when he pushed Rapturana into that filthy water 'on accident'? They don't like that kid."

Velon, AKA Roger Miller, snickered softly. "It was an accident. He was trying to catch Elengatia's attention and tripped. It worked though. I can guarantee you Elengatia wasn't looking at anything else."

"As I recall, the reason we got away that time is because those girls started a kitty fight and had to be broken up by their own."

"We could always say his special power is royally screwing things up for the better."

"He's a good guy though," Wellin reminded him. "I just hope this thing doesn't get too nasty. We're expecting a Hero in two hours. Soon as he gets here, he's gotta launch into whatever dialogue he got."

"Arada's had a whole week to get ready. He'll pull this off without a hitch." Roger said confidently. "He's organized dozens of these missions."

"It's one thing to direct, another to be in the hot seat." Wellin told him. "He knows better than anyone what will happen if he doesn't pull this off or he gets caught."  
Roger leaned back down on the bed. "That's why he's gonna be such a good Villain. You'll see."

Wellin glanced back out the tent flap and watched as Arada came out from behind the control shed and greeted some other henchmen. He seemed totally calm, with his natural attentive demeanor.

"I hope you're right, old man." Wellin murmured.


	2. The Problem

I watched him come.

He swaggered, chest out, full of righteousness and the glow of goodness.

No…wait, he WAS glowing.

"Damn," I hissed out the side of my mouth to Yate. "A glower. Want to bet he throws lightning?"

"It's a good thing I wore my rubber underwear." Yate whispered back just loud enough to for my honor guard of four henchmen to hear. They dissolved into strangled giggles.

He turned slightly. "Quiet, you dogs. Put on your scared faces or I'll put them there for you."

They did their best to stop laughing and look scared. The end result was less than desirable.

He glanced at them before turning back to me and saluting. "I know I'm scared sir. Look at those men. Can you not be terrified?"

I tried not to break a smile. Yate had the ability to keep a straight face through anything.

"As you were, Second."

He pulled his salute down and smartly turned away. I turned my attention back to the enemy.

He was good looking. There were rarely bad looking heroes. Never bad looking Heroines. He had dark black hair, swept back across his head. His uniform consisted of black leather. Everywhere. Even his undershirt was leather.

He wouldn't survive in a hot climate. Maybe next time we should move our base to the desert. That would cut out any water based or leather wearing heroes. Of course, that might bring in the ones with super strength. In which case we should make sure not to bring cars…or any sort of large object. Of course, if we just dug a pit, that might help; strength doesn't necessarily mean jumping power-

"Evil denizens! Bring forth your Master, Velon! The great Alliance of Heroes has sent me, Shadow Bolt, to deal with your nefarious schemes!"

"Ooh…This one got his hands on a thesaurus before he got here." Yate said out of the side of his mouth. "You're up, O Nefarious One."

"Velon is no longer in power! I-!" I suddenly froze. We hadn't got around to giving me a moniker. "I have taken over!"

"Nice save." Yate murmured. I made a mental note to make him move my tent later.

"And who are you!?" Shadow Bolt struck a pose. It wasn't one of the better ones I'd seen. A little too much lean to the left.

"Who I am is unimportant, for you all will remember my name later!" I managed. I was still trying to recover from the last slip-up.

"How will I remember your name if I don't know what it is?" The Hero asked, dumbfounded.

"…I can't be sidetracked by stupid questions by stupid self-righteous fools!" I stepped forward with a swagger. "The only thing you need to know is that I will take over the world and have already started with this syndicate!"

"I won't let you win!"

Good, back on track. Now to deploy the henchmen, make my getaway, and pull the operation to a close.

"You're wrong! I have already won!"

I turned to the honor guard, and realized the expressions were all wrong. They still had the slightly demented look of fear on their faces.

Damn. I shot a look at Yate. He took one look at the henchmen and came to my rescue.

"Look, Hero! Even the lowliest henchmen are insane with fear when faced with our new master!"

"That's how it should be!" I rallied. "Fear is the greatest of motivators. Now, henchmen…attack the hero! If you live, I'll allow you a place in my army for judgment day."

I turned back to the Hero. "Waste your time with these dogs. You're not worth mine."

A look of fury came over the Hero's face. If there is one thing a Hero cannot stand, it is to be told he doesn't warrant someone's time. He was going to ignore the Henchmen completely and come after me.

The four henchmen scrambled to attack the Hero. The trick was to look convincing while keeping their bodies relaxed enough so that if they were hit, they wouldn't sustain any real damage. My job was to get a running head start.

He pushed them to the side and ran straight after me, energy building up in his left hand.

I moved fast, years of practice behind me. Old man Velon could run fast too. It was an acquired trait for villains.

I heard Yate make a strangled yell behind me. It was a real one, and I looked over my shoulder.

Yate was on the ground, twitching. The Hero was right on top of me. He rose his hand up, energy crackling meanly.

Yate must have tried to get in his way and got the bad end of a bolt. And for as fast as I ran, the Hero had somehow caught up.

He was going to hit me, and I knew from the look in his eye he wasn't going to stop when I went down.

Pure defensive instinct took over. I twisted to face him, brought my fist back and hit him in the eye. I felt the fist connect, flesh on flesh, and the energy in Shadow Bolt's hand went out immediately. He stumbled backward, looking at me in complete shock.

Then he collapsed.  
________________________________________  
 **COUNCIL OF VILLAINS**  
"We have no candidates for Villainhood at this time. We lost three good Villains last month and lost five good people trying to reinstate new ones. We cannot spare one for Velon to train." Elwark stated while wiping some sleep from his eyes. "He may have to assimilate his henchmen with another Villain more up to the task."

The Council of Villains consisted of the ten great moderators, those who picked the Villains of the world. Elwark Rosewood had the head seat of the council, and Nara Talbot, Kevin Kremmel, Jacob Fairwell, Nadja Borenz, Clive Markus, Rachel Veneel, Theodore Placus, Robert Placus, and Maribel Navia followed him.

Councilwoman Veneel shook her head. She was an old woman, with sharp eyes and a quick wit. "I fear we lose more Villains to the heroes than ever before. Perhaps they have grown to like killing those that will not kill back. Our villains would never kill them."

"How can they?" Kremmel asked. He was a younger man, but with a gray streak in his bangs where stress had taken him. "Remember what happened the last time a Hero was injured? Badly? It was a massacre. Alavor's syndicate was never reestablished, not even when they buried his body. And it is far too difficult to start up new ones, especially with the backgrounds and crafting. Imagine what would happen if one was killed! It wouldn't be a massacre, it would be whole scale genocide!"

"You know, back in the old world they had battles because someone had killed someone else, and the kin of the other came back after them. Sometimes take the whole family of the other person." Fairwell said, tapping his cigarette in his tray. He always wore his suits, even when not in council chambers.

One of the Placus brothers,Robert, shrugged. "That may be so, but I'm almost certain that in the old world the family didn't offer themselves up as dramatic sacrificial sheep."

His twin brother nodded. "And they probably didn't swear undying evildoing in front of their attackers, unless the world we came from was full of sick, deranged people. They didn't have Heroes back then, by my records. Not our kind, by any rate."

"If it pleases the council, we have had this discussion before." Talbot turned her head to look at the speakers. "We can either discuss history or discuss what to do with the displaced henchmen of Velon. We need to find a villain that can use them to their full potential, and we have sixteen syndicates to look at. Shall we begin?"

She pulled out the first syndicate reportand passed it around. The council sank into its duties once again.  
________________________________________

"I can't believe you hit him!" Anja screeched.

"Yeah, we went through that." I waved her away distractedly. I was trying to figure out what to do about our new problem.  
Villains don't win. It's a basic fact of society. If a villain won, that means a Hero fell and others must stand up to take his place. And that meant the Assembly of Heroes.

Thunderbolt or whatever the hell his name was, he was just a lackey. A no-name looking for a big break. If he made enough noise, though, he could bring the Assembly on our heads.

But if we kidnapped him or made him disappear, then the Assembly would be all over us. Our little syndicate would be so much burnt toast.

"What's going on?"

I turned to see Velon hobbling towards me. Doctor Wellin stopped to take a look at the hero that was still unconscious on the ground.

When Velon got to me he smacked me on the forehead. "You know better than to knock Heroes on their ass!"

"Sorry chief." I said automatically.

"Don't sorry me, fix it! What are you going to do?"

"Hell if I know boss."

"Slip out of the idiot henchman mode for a second and talk serious. This is a big problem. The Assembly probably won't listen to this snot-nosed kid, but they might. We gotta have an excuse!"

"I've got an idea!" Anja yelled suddenly.

"Well?" Velon asked impatiently. "What is it?"

"Arada is a villain! What better way to show off how villainous you are then beat a hero and send him back crying to the council?"

"…Excuse me, but aren't we trying to stay away from that?" I asked. There an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"No! I mean, well, yes, but that's not what I mean!" She flapped her arms. She always got like that when she got an idea that really caught her inspiration. "What do heroes want above all else? They want a challenge! But they don't want it to be overly dangerous! What better way to do that than have one of their own come back talking about a new villain that let them go?"

"…I'm lost."

"Look." She began talking slowly. "We wait until hero wakes up. You give hime a speech and tell him to tell everyone about you. With any luck, Boltboy here will make a big deal about you being his sworn rival and keep everyone else away from you. Not only do we get away Stan-free, we get to keep control of the syndicate, because Arada will be a villain by default."

"Who's Stan?" Yate asked groggily from behind me. He had been stumbling around ever since he came to.

"Don't worry about it." I told him. Turning back to Anja, I asked, "Won't the Council get mad at us for going over their heads? They're looking for a new villain for us right now!"

"It's not as if we have a choice-we can't leave him, it'll look like an agenda, or worse, that we're faking. The Assembly will have a field day."

Velon nodded. "She's right."

"It's up to you, Arada."

I looked at her. "I don't have much of a choice. Get me a speech. Make it sound good. I'd hate to be labeled an idiot villain."

"Yes!" Anja scrambled off to find a pen and paper.

"And get me a moniker!" I yelled after her. "A good one!"


End file.
